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Bubba Ray Dudley
In 1999, Buh Buh Ray and D-Von left ECW following a pay dispute and joined the World Wrestling Federation, where the "Buh Buh" stutter-spelling of "Bubba Ray Dudley" was rescinded. Throughout 2000 and 2001, the Dudley Boyz engaged in a three way feud for the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian. The feud incorporated two critically acclaimed Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches, the first at SummerSlam in 2000 and the second at WrestleMania X-Seven. While they were initially heels, and Bubba Ray never changed his penchant for driving women through tables, the Dudley Boyz were soon cheered by the crowd and were turned face in early 2000. On the December 28, 2000 episode of SmackDown!, Bubba received a title shot against WWF Champion Kurt Angle, which he lost after an Angle Slam through a table. http://www.lordsofpain.net/reports/smackdown/smackdown12-28-00.html. In early 2001, The Dudleys were joined in the WWF by Spike Dudley. In mid-2001, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again by joining The Alliance, a large stable of former ECW and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) wrestlers led by Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley who attempted to take over the WWF (Spike, along with several other ECW alumni, did not join The Alliance). The ECW-WCW invasion ended at the Survivor Series, when five WWF wrestlers defeated five Alliance wrestlers in a match to determine the ownership of the WWF. The Alliance disbanded and its members left the WWF, but the Dudley Boyz retained their jobs due to their possession of the WWF Tag Team Championship, which they had unified with the WCW Tag Team Championship that night. Following WrestleMania X8, in May 2002 the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) and the roster was divided into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!. The Dudley Boyz were separated when Bubba Ray was drafted to Raw and D-Von to SmackDown!. On Raw, Bubba Ray found moderate success as he competed for the WWE Hardcore Championship, formed a tag team with Spike, and even competed in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H. D'Von's new gimmick on SmackDown! failed to get over, however, and he was reunited with Bubba Ray and Spike on November 17, 2002 when he returned to the Raw brand. The Dudley Boyz became a staple in the Raw tag team division over the next sixteen months, feuding with teams such as 3-Minute Warning, La Résistance, and various combinations of The Un-Americans. They held the WWF World Tag Team Championship several more times before being traded (along with Booker T) to SmackDown! on March 22, 2004 in exchange for Triple H. Shortly after arriving on SmackDown!, the Dudley Boyz turned heel once again, siding with Paul Heyman and feuding with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio. On May 27, the Dudley Boyz kidnapped Paul Bearer, the manager of Heyman's enemy The Undertaker. On June 27 at The Great American Bash, The Undertaker defeated the Dudley Boyz in a handicap match. In July, the Dudley Boyz reunited with Spike. For the remainder of the year, they assisted Spike in his matches for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. They also won the WWE Tag Team Championship one more time. In early 2005, the Dudley Boyz were removed from WWE television and sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling while the WWE creative team attempted to devise an angle for them. The Dudley Boyz returned to WWE television in June 2005 in order to promote ECW One Night Stand, an ECW reunion show. In the weeks preceding One Night Stand they, along with several other ECW alumni, vied with General Manager Eric Bischoff and his "anti-hardcore crusaders". At One Night Stand on June 12, the Dudley Boyz defeated Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman in the main event of the night after driving Dreamer through a flaming table. On July 5, 2005, WWE announced that it had opted not to continue contract renewal negotiations with the Dudley Boyz. In addition, fifteen other wrestlers were released by WWE, which was decreasing its spending as a result of a fall in projected revenue. In August 2005, all three former Dudleys were issued with legal notices instructing them not to use the (WWE trademarked) name "Dudley". This led to a degree of acrimony between the former Dudleys and their erstwhile employers, as they had used the names since 1996, several years before all ECW intellectual property was acquired by WWE as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. Soon after, LoMonaco and Hughes (D-Von) announced that they intended to pursue legal action against WWE.